The 2008 spring drills are over for the Missouri State football Bears with the completion of Saturday’s Maroon and White Spring Game, won 19-14 by the White team at Plaster Field.
The Bears of Coach Terry Allen and his staff will resume workouts in August for the start of the 2008 season, set to begin Sept. 4 in Plaster with a visit by Washburn University.
Even with a half dozen Bears sidelined from Saturday’s game with injuries, the Bears concluded their deepest roster spring on record with some 44 lettermen present on a 79-player roster. Punter Brandon Scharf and placekicker Jason Bromley performed their skills for both teams in Saturday’s spring finale.
Accurate passing was the order of the day, most notably from the two returning quarterback starters on the Bears’ roster. Sophomore Cody Kirby, who started seven games in 2007, hit 15-of-21 passes for 122 yards, while junior Tyler Horner, who had five starts at the end of the 2006 season connected on 8-of-12 throws for 111 yards. FB Jeff Sargent had five catches for 45 yards and WR Adrian Taylor caught three throws for 39 yards to lead the receiving. TB Stephen Johnston had 12 carries for 47 yards as the game’s top ground gainer.
The Maroon team struck first on the opening possession of the game as Horner tossed an 11-yard scoring pass to TE Clay Harbor. The Maroons answered with a one-yard run from Stephen Johnston, but Horner hooked up with WR Chris Geisz on a 31-yard throw to put the Maroons up 14-6. TB Jonathan Davis provided the White team with its winning margin as he scored on a two-yard run just before halftime and then tallied on a five-yard burst near the end of the third period.
courtesy of Missouri State athletics
